Assistant Professor in Special Education

San Francisco State University, Department of Special Education offers an exciting opportunity for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Special Education beginning August 2023. We seek a colleague whose teaching and research interests include a specialization on students with visual impairments. We are especially interested in qualified candidates who can contribute, through their research, teaching, and/or service, through diversity, to the excellence of the academic community.

The Department of Special Education was established in 1948 as the first such academic unit in the state of California. Through the decades, the Department provided leadership in the field with prominent faculty members in the areas of inclusive education, visual impairment, early childhood special education, autism spectrum, transition to work, orientation and mobility, and deaf education. In 1967, San Francisco State College began the Joint Doctoral Program (PhD) in Special Education with the University of California, Berkeley. The Joint PhD Program was the first such program approved in the state of California by the Joint Graduate Board and is now in its fifth decade. The program provides the opportunity for faculty members to mentor doctoral students in research, program model development, and train future university academicians. Now in its 7th decade, the Department of Special Education continues our commitment to professional preparation, research, and scholarship. Professional training is informed and enhanced by faculty who are leading researchers in their areas of specialization with a long history of successful funding through internal and external grants and contracts.

The mission of San Francisco State University is to create and maintain an environment for learning that promotes respect for and appreciation of scholarship, freedom, human diversity, and the cultural mosaic of the City of San Francisco and the Bay Area; to promote excellence in instruction and intellectual accomplishment; and to provide broadly accessible higher education for residents of the region and state, as well as the nation and world. To fulfill its mission, the University is committed to the following goals:

• Attracting, retaining and graduating a highly diverse student body; Providing disciplinary and interdisciplinary liberal arts and professional education that is academically rigorous and intellectually challenging; Providing curricula that reflect all dimensions of human diversity, encourages critical thinking, and promotes social justice and culturally responsive practices in the classroom and community Recruiting, retaining and supporting a diverse faculty whose teaching demonstrates an active engagement with their individual fields of study and whose creative and scholarly work is an extension of the classroom, laboratory or studio; Employing a staff and administration reflecting the diversity of our student community and the values of the campus; Fostering a collegial and cooperative intellectual environment that includes recognition and appreciation of differing viewpoints and promotes academic freedom within the University community; and Serving the communities with which its students and faculty are engaged.

Responsibilities: The position requires undergraduate and graduate teaching in visual impairments including braille, differentiated assessments and curricular design, and culturally responsive and inclusive education. Other responsibilities include mentoring and advising undergraduate and graduate students, developing an active ongoing scholarship program in visual impairment, and ongoing committee and service assignments. A detailed position description is available at www.sped.sfsu.edu.

Qualifications: Required:

• Ph.D. or equivalent terminal degree in Special Education with an emphasis on Visual Impairment; Terminal degree must be completed by the first day of employment Demonstrated ability to promote inclusion, diversity, and equity in teaching and scholarship Record of working and communicating collaboratively and effectively with colleagues, students, and families Minimum 3 years teaching experience as a fully credentialed itinerant teacher of blind and low vision students (TVI)

Preferred:

• Proficiency with in-person, hybrid, asynchronous, and synchronous instruction Knowledge of principles and instructional strategies for universal design for learning and culturally responsive pedagogy Five years teaching experience as a fully credentialed itinerant teacher of blind and low vision students (TVI) Demonstrated commitment to multimedia accessibility and empowering learners with visual impairments for interdependence and self-determined behavior Prior teaching experience in higher education with a large, diverse student body or in a multicultural setting Prior teaching or training experience in online settings Awareness and engagement with critical concerns in the discipline and capacity to continue to produce original work; Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum design, instruction of individuals and groups, and the assessment of learning; Planning and organizing skills sufficient to ensure implementation of the assigned curriculum, job duties, and established expectations; Active record of scholarship related to Visual Impairment and evidence of external support and grant funding Oral and written communication skills in the English language at a level that comprehends and conveys information to and from students, colleagues, and policymakers in an effective manner; Strong interpersonal skills that encourage collaborative interactions with students, colleagues, and other campus stakeholders and promotes collegiality in community, department, college, and university contexts Experience teaching and working closely with students from historically under-represented communities and their families Record of collaboration or scholarship with national or international impact

Rank and salary: Assistant Professor. Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience. The California State University (CSU) provides generous health, retirement and other benefits.

Application:  A complete online application must be submitted to receive consideration. To apply, please go to

https://careers.pageuppeople.com/873/sf/en-us/job/519920/assistant-professor-special-educationto begin the application process and upload the following materials:

• current CV, a statement on how your teaching and scholarship align with the commitment of the Department of Special Education to foster an inclusive and diverse academic community; sample of scholarly papers; and Names and contact information of three references who will provide letters of recommendation upon request. 

Applications will be reviewed starting on October 1, 2022.

CSU requires faculty, staff, and students who are accessing campus facilities to be immunized against COVID-19 or declare a medical or religious exemption from doing so.  Any candidates advanced in a currently open search process should be prepared to comply with this requirement. The systemwide policy can be found at https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/9779821/latest/ and questions may be sent to hr@campus.edu

Thank you for your interest in employment with California State University (CSU).  CSU is a state entity whose business operations reside within the State of California.  Because of this, CSU prohibits hiring employees to perform CSU-related work outside of California with very limited exception.  While this position may be eligible for occasional telework, all work is expected to be performed in the state of California, and this position is assigned to on-campus operations.

San Francisco State is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate against persons on the basis of race, religion, color, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, medical condition, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, covered veteran status, or any other protected status. We strongly encourage the application of individuals from historically underrepresented groups. Reasonable accommodations will be provided for qualified applicants with disabilities who self-disclose by contacting the Senior Human Resources Manager. Additional information on the requirements for new hires may be found at the Human Resources web page (https://hr.sfsu.edu/about-hr ).